Ross to Middle East to talk Iran

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Dennis Ross will travel to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Persian Gulf states to discuss U.S. policy on Iran.

Ross, the top Iran policy official in the Obama administration, will leave Tuesday and be joined by Puneet Talwar, the top Iran official on the White House National Security Council, and Lt. Gen. John Allen, the deputy commander of Central Command, the U.S. State Department said.

Ross, who during Obama’s election campaign advocated strong sanctions joined to outreach as a means of having Iran end its suspected weapons program, has been leading the group formulating the Iran policy document.

The nations on his itinerary all favor a unified approach aimed at keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons power. In addition to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Ross will visit the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.